Mark Madden stories, Page 9
Mark Madden: The recalibration of Mike Tomlin’s legend continues
Denial. It’s tough. With the Pittsburgh Steelers set to finish their traditional late-season skid with a fifth straight loss by losing their wild-card playoff game at Baltimore on Saturday, here’s a bit of hope: Betting the Steelers on the money line is great value. The Steelers are plus-400. A worthwhile...
Mark Madden: Minkah Fitzpatrick not giving Steelers enough bang for the buck
The Pittsburgh Steelers are in their current mess for a number of reasons. But two stand out. Selecting Kenny Pickett in the first round of the 2022 draft was badly damaging. Pickett very quickly revealed himself to not be of starting caliber. The Steelers have patchworked at quarterback since Pickett...
Mark Madden: Time for the Steelers to send a message and bench George Pickens
Saying what the Steelers should do often contradicts what the Steelers do. They are perfectly content to lose using their method. But the Steelers should make wideout George Pickens inactive for their playoff game Saturday night at Baltimore. It’s time to quit ladling out horse manure about the team’s alleged...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Forget being fair, NHL’s outdoor games need star power, top teams
The NHL’s annual Winter Classic drew 16% less TV viewers than last year’s. The audience of 920,000 was the event’s lowest ever. That’s hardly shocking. The Winter Classic featured two subpar teams, St. Louis and host Chicago. The Blackhawks currently sit last in the NHL’s Central Division and their alleged...
Mark Madden: Want to live up to the Steelers’ standard? Beat the Bungles
The Pittsburgh Steelers have folded. Beat by a cumulative 90-40 over the last three weeks, left in the dust by teams that are clearly better, exposed as non-contenders when it comes to doing anything significant, knocked off the top of the AFC North and scrambling to avoid a euthanasia scenario in...
Mark Madden: Should Steelers rest starters vs. Bengals if Ravens win and more sports notes
Time to ring in the New Year with refreshing sports notes! What does “auld lang syne” mean, anyway? • By the time the Pittsburgh Steelers’ season ends, the only thing Mike Tomlin will win is “Hard Knocks.” • The Steelers will either lose the next two games or win the next...
Mark Madden: Drastic changes needed if Steelers’ collapse continues, but they won’t make them
What if the Steelers lose out? What if they go from 10-3 to 10-7, then drop their first playoff game? It’s not an unlikely scenario. The Steelers play worse every week. Against Kansas City, they played like it was the middle of next month. The Steelers are clearly a level...
Mark Madden: No surprise that flawed roster, poor coaching led to Steelers’ collapse
This column will be all over the place. Because the Pittsburgh Steelers are all over the place. From 10-3 to 10-6. From AFC North front-runner in line for a playoff home game to hitting the road for the wild-card round. From “a legit Super Bowl contender that can beat anybody”...
Mark Madden: Sidney Crosby might be on verge of his greatest individual achievement as a Penguin
Let’s celebrate the season with refreshing Pittsburgh Penguins notes! They’re a lot more refreshing when you win nine of 13 and splatter Philadelphia as a Christmas gift. Have you ever seen the Flyers win the Cup? • From goal line to goal line and on the stat sheet, I’m confident...
Mark Madden: With the Steelers showing familiar faults, is another collapse underway?
Whatever is happening with the Pittsburgh Steelers isn’t good. Their 10-3 mark of a few weeks back seems like fool’s gold. They’ve been dominated in consecutive weeks by upper-echelon teams Philadelphia and Baltimore, making it clear that the Steelers are a class below. The opposition’s physical superiority made the gap...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Despite being in postseason chase, Penguins need to be sellers
If the Pittsburgh Penguins stay in the playoff picture as the NHL season slogs into January — that’s a big “if,” but never bet against Sidney Crosby — a few things must happen. The Penguins must regardless trade defenseman Marcus Pettersson, an unrestricted free agent at season’s end. President of hockey...
Mark Madden: Steelers need to show more toughness or risk familiar finish
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ season might wind up packing no surprises. The Steelers built a good record by beating mostly bad teams as the first half of their schedule dictated. An unthinkable loss made its semi-regular appearance Nov. 21 at Cleveland. (The Browns were 2-8 going into the game.) Now the...
Mark Madden: Penguins can’t lose sight of big picture as playoff hopes clash with rebuilding roster
The Penguins are putting president of hockey ops/GM Kyle Dubas in a difficult position. Before the team went on its ongoing 7-2-1 run — which features six wins vs. teams currently in playoff spots — it was easy to brace for the inevitability of Dubas trading players like defenseman Marcus...
Mark Madden: Steelers’ humbling loss to Eagles revealed certain truths
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 27-13 loss Sunday at Philadelphia seemed a declaration that they are a tier below the host Eagles and, indeed, several other top-echelon NFL teams. The Steelers might have stolen a victory had Najee Harris not fumbled away a potential game-tying drive in the third quarter with the...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Steelers’ shorthanded receivers group won’t be enough vs. Eagles
Hurt Hurts, then pick Pickett. That’s my strategy for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ game at Philadelphia on Sunday, not least because the absence of top wideout George Pickens will cripple the Steelers’ offense. Wouldn’t it be incredible if Jalen Hurts did get injured, and ex-Steeler Kenny Pickett deputized at quarterback for Philadelphia?...
Mark Madden: Pirates ownership will always choose profit over winning, even amid Paul Skenes’ window
The Pittsburgh Pirates have Paul Skenes, just 22, the NL Rookie of the Year and already MLB’s best pitcher. Yet it seems like a time of no hope. To date, the Pirates’ big offseason move is trading a solid starting pitcher in Luis Ortiz for Spencer Horwitz, a meh first...
Mark Madden: Mark Gastineau was cheated by Brett Favre, and the NFL should make it rightVideo
There’s an ESPN “30 for 30” premiering Friday about the “New York Sack Exchange,” the New York Jets’ pass rush of the ’80s. It’s narrated by Method Man of Wu-Tang Clan, so you know it’s good. One of the issues featured in the documentary is the theft of the NFL...
Mark Madden: Steelers lack an exploitable weak spot, which goes a long way
If you hear any noise, it’s just me and refreshing sports notes boppin’. Well deserved, Cobra. • The Steelers’ biggest strength may be that nothing about them stinks too bad. The defensive line isn’t great, but it’s got Cameron Heyward. The offensive line is OK, not terrible. There’s isn’t a...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Pressure is on Steelers’ T.J. Watt in rematch with Myles Garrett, Browns
T.J. Watt skipped the NFL Honors ceremony at Las Vegas in February when he learned he wouldn’t be winning the league’s Defensive Player of the Year. Cleveland’s Myles Garrett got that award. Garrett took Watt’s no-show as a slight, and said so. When the Steelers visited Cleveland on Nov. 21,...
Mark Madden: ‘Hard Knocks’ exposes that image — not results — matters most when evaluating Mike Tomlin
The inside look at the AFC North conducted by HBO’s “Hard Knocks” is another enabler when it comes to results being obscured and secondary in the evaluation of Mike Tomlin’s performance. Ex-Steeler Ryan Clark spoke on ESPN about how Tomlin appears on HBO: “Pittsburgh fans that want Mike Tomlin fired...
Mark Madden: MLB’s proposed Golden At-Bat rule goes too far … or does it?
The pitch clock is OK. It speeded up the game. Ghost runners in extra innings were tough to get used to. But regular-season games shouldn’t last forever. Restricting the infield shift increased offense. The three-batter minimum for pitchers (or to the end of a half-inning) minimized the endless merry-go-round between...
Mark Madden: The Steelers are Russell Wilson’s team now. That’s a good thing
What we do in life echoes in refreshing sports notes. The gods have spoken! • The Pittsburgh Steelers are no longer built on defense, pounding the ball on the ground and dominating possession. They’re built on Russell Wilson. That gives them a better chance than all of the above. Ten...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Steelers OC Arthur Smith could make North Carolina a big winner overnight
Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith was contacted by the University of North Carolina about its vacant head coaching position. When the media queried, Smith said how much he loves his job with the Steelers. But he didn’t say, “No, I am definitely not taking the job at North Carolina.”...
Mark Madden: Opening up offense key if Steelers are to outscore Joe Burrow, Bengals
The Steelers’ traditional Neanderthal offensive approach resurfaced in their deadly dull 18-16 home win over Baltimore two weeks ago. That side of the ball then sputtered for three quarters in the subsequent 24-19 loss at Cleveland, admittedly handicapped by bad weather and even worse coaching than usual. Now the Steelers...
Mark Madden: The Steelers shouldn’t need gimmicks; keep Justin Fields on the bench
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ most important game of the season is Sunday at Cincinnati. The Bengals are better than their 4-7 record. The Steelers’ 8-3 mark feels deceptive after their clumsy loss at Cleveland. Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow is one of football’s best quarterbacks. There’s a reason the Bengals are favored by...
